The present disclosure relates to gear lubrication and more specifically, to a method of lubricating a gear in a differential gear system without disassembly of a gearbox.
Differential gear systems include a plurality of gears that are in motion within a gear box. During operation, grease residing on the gears is squeezed out of the gears at the contacting mesh surfaces of the gears. Additionally, grease lubrication properties degrade over time. These gears therefore require periodic lubrication. When a gear system includes a fixed gear shaft, the gears may be easily re-greased by pumping grease from outside the gearbox into the gearbox via a tube or guide at a fixed location in a housing of the gearbox. However, differential gear systems, which have non-fixed rotating shafts, are not easily greased from the outside because the location requiring lubrication moves with respect to the housing and, thus, with respect to the fixed tube or guide. Another possible method of re-greasing a differential gear system involves disassembling the gearbox and gear assembly. This method however can be time consuming, expensive and open to the possibility of damaging or losing parts, incorrect reassembly or mis-rigging of the gearbox components to the overall system.